I am a keynote speaker and author advocating a revolutionary new approach to leadership called Reality-Based Leadership. My goal is to help leaders and organizations thrive despite the circumstances with actionable advice. After a successful career as a counselor, I have spent the past 18 years consulting with some of the biggest companies in industries ranging from manufacturing, banking, government, high-tech, and healthcare, to help them incorporate reality-based concepts into leader and employee training programs. I am a highly sought-after conference headliner, delivering over 150 keynote programs and reaching a combined audience of over 250,000 annually. I hold a Certified Speaking Professional (CSP) designation from the National Speakers’ Association, placing me within the top 3 percent of speakers worldwide. I also received the 2012 Outstanding Leadership Award from the World HRD Congress in Mumbai. My first book, Reality-Based Leadership, is a straight-forward and practical guide for leaders who want to reduce office drama and improve personal accountability with their teams. My new book, The Reality-Based Rules of the Workplace, looks at this issue from an individual employee perspective. For more information visit http://www.realitybasedleadership.com/.

Where Do You See Yourself in Five Years?

If you have any experience with job interviews, you have probably encountered this doozy of a question. The hiring manager squints down at your resume, scans your accomplishments and looks up to ask, “So where do you see yourself in five years?” You start to sweat, and the wheels in your head spin over the options. If you go too ambitious (“CEO”), you might look arrogant or naïve. If you stick with modest goals (“I just want to be working for a good company”), you may seem complacent or dull.

How you answer this question is an important indicator of your future success. So, what’s the right answer? Is there a right answer?

Assessing your future potential

Consider this. Though the hiring manager does want to understand your personal long-term goals, the question is also designed to find out how willing you are to support change and growth in the organization. Your new boss wants to know your future potential: whether you’re a go-getter – eager to try new things, take on new responsibilities and help the company move forward – or just dead weight.

High-value employees are people who can accept and welcome change. They are eager to learn and grow, applying their personal and professional talents to new challenges and opportunities. They build on yesterday’s success, but focus on tomorrow. This is one of the new Reality-Based Rules of the Workplace.

New world, new rules

Listen, the world is a different place than it was 20 years ago. Organizations have to produce results in an uncertain environment, with frequent economic fluctuations, disruptive technologies and a tough competitive playing field. In today’s fast-changing world, last year’s performance is ancient history. When you buy stock in a public company, you don’t necessarily care how the company performed last year or even last quarter. I mean, you look at past performance as an indicator of its general health, but what you really care about is its future potential, right? You’re investing in the organization because you’re betting that it has the chops to keep growing, changing and pulling in a profit.

It’s time for employees to ante up. To help these organizations succeed, you must be just as tough, just as scrappy, and just as focused on future performance as they are. Instead of trying to shield yourself from rising expectations and changing circumstances, you need to grow into them.

How to boost your future potential

The more you view change as a chance to grow, the better off you’ll be. Your success must not depend on everything staying the same in your job and in the industry at large. Get zealous about development – not just company-sponsored training but also continuing education, professional organizations, volunteer work and more. Doing so will keep you relevant in the world around you, so you can compete with the other professionals in your field.

Don’t know where to start? How about starting with what you dread? If it hurts, that’s a clear sign that it is an area in which you lack critical skills, capabilities and methods. For some, it might be public speaking. For others, computer skills. Whatever it is, get started on filling in the gaps, making yourself more valuable to your organization and more marketable as a professional. Imagine what you could do with those new skills under your belt! Will you get a promotion? Will you go after that dream job you’ve always wanted? Will be a manager, a VP, a CEO? And next time someone asks you, where do you see yourself in five years?, you will be ready with an answer.

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